Permission to quote must be received in writing from the Special Collections Librarian.

Provenance

Given to the Maryland Historical Society by Mrs. J. Rieman McIntosh/Mrs. Mayo Bryan. The collection was donated in several stages from 1971 and 2002 as part of the larger Rieman Family Collection, MS 3045.

Processing note

The collection was processed in April 2005 by Joanna Lamb and completed in October 2010 by Damon Talbot.

Biographical Note

The Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club (EHHC) was founded as the Elk Ridge Fox Hunting Club by the wealthy horse-owning elite of Baltimore and the surrounding countryside. The group was dedicated to preserving the “noble sport of fox-hunting” in Maryland, and provided a social and recreational outlet from its members’ business pursuits in Baltimore City.

In 1920, the organization incorporated to become the Elkridge Hounds, Inc. Baltimore City’s continued expansion and the economic problems of the Great Depression led to the Elkridge Hounds Merger with the Harford Hunt Club in 1934 to become the Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club.In 1978, the EHHC celebrated its 100th Anniversary with a dinner-dance at the Elkridge Club on Charles Street Avenue. The occasion was also marked by the publication of numerous articles and two small books relating to the history of the EHHC and to fox hunting in Maryland.

EHHC activities include breeding and training hounds, stabling horses, organizing hunts and steeplechases, as well as various dinner, teas, and dances for the socialization of its members.The organization has maintained a strict code of dress and etiquette for both the hunts and the events at the Club House. EHHC also has a webpage at www.ehhounds.com.

The creator of this collection, Mr. J. Rieman McIntosh (1905 - 1990), served as president of the EHHC from1939 – 1941, 1946-1953, and 1971-1972. He also served as secretary of the club from 1936-1939. He is the author of The Elkridge Fox Hunting Club: Stories of the Hunts, 1880 - 1884 and A History of the Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club, 1878 – 1978, which are both contained in the collection. (These books can also be found in the main reading room of the Maryland Historical Society) Mr. McIntosh collected memorabilia and organizational records related to the EHHC as research for his books, and he and his family saved most of the EHHC correspondence and publications that they received. His widow, Mrs. Mayo Bryan, was responsible for the donation of the collection.

The bulk of the material consists of records and correspondence collected by Mr. J. Rieman McIntosh while researching the history of the EHHC for his 1978 book. Most of this material relates to the twentieth century history of the Club. The collection does not contain the complete organizational records of the EHHC, but it does contain the minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors for the years 1927 to 1935, and copies of the by-laws for 1937 and 1961.There is also a wealth of correspondence relating to the 1934 merger of the Elkridge Hounds, Inc. and the Harford Hunt Club.

The hunt season runs from September to March, and fixture cards with details of the Club events were mailed once a month throughout the season.The McIntosh family saved almost all of their fixture cards, so that the events of the EHHC from 1889 to 1992 have been preserved and are found in Series IV of the collection.

In 1978, the EHHC celebrated its 100th Anniversary, and both Mr. J. Rieman McIntosh and his wife (now) Mrs. Mayo Bryan, were involved in planning the celebrations. Series III of the collection contains the records of the Financial Committee and the Invitations Committee on which they served.

See also the following sources in the Maryland Historical Society’s Main Reading Room:

Maryland Historical Magazine, June 1940, p 160 – 162, MF 176 .M18

Maryland Horse, March - June 1974, November 1978, MSF277.M3

A brief history of Trinity Church, Towsontown : 1860-1960 / compiled from the records of the vestry and Dr. Jackson Piper's manuscript on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the Church, McIntosh, J. Rieman. Towson, Maryland : [s.n.], 1960.

This series contains various documents relating to the organizational structure of the EHHC, including by-laws, financial records, membership roles (including a copy of the membership roll for the Green Spring Valley Hunt Club, a sister organization), and minutes of meetings. The minutes of the meetings of the Board of Governors from 1927 to 1935, which are bound together using brads, demonstrate the organizational workings of the Depression-era Hunt Club and record the merger of the two clubs to form the EHHC. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject, and then divided chronologically within each subject.

Series II: Correspondence; 1890 – 1987 (Box 1, Folders 7 – 16)

This series consists of correspondence to and from the EHHC concerning a variety of organizational concerns. The bulk of the letters date from 1924 – 1936, and relate to a boundary dispute, the EHHC merger, the liquidation of the old Elkridge Hounds, Inc., the McLean farm property owned by the Club, a Social Security tax settlement, and the 75th Anniversary celebration in 1953. There are also letters to Mr. J.R. McIntosh concerning the history of the organization, and some miscellaneous correspondence. Arrangement is roughly chronological.

Series III: 100th Anniversary Records; 1978 (Box 1, Folders 17 – 21)

This series consists of the financial records of the EHHC 100th Anniversary Planning Committee, as well as the records of the Invitations Committee, which was headed by Mrs. Mayo Bryan, donator of the collection. The series also contains 100th Anniversary publications, such as hand-colored invitations, dinner place-cards, and menus. The correspondence thanking Mr. and Mrs. J.R. McIntosh for their role in planning the celebration is contained in Folder 21.This series is arranged by subject, as all of the material is from the same year.

Series IV: Publications; 1884 – 1992 (Box 2, Folders 1 – 15)

This series contains the published ephemera of the EHHC. The 1884 pamphlet describing the early Club’s amenities and the 1889 booklet listing the hounds and horses are of particular interest. Various race invitations, programs, kennel list, and bulletins regarding the Christmas Fund for EHHC employed servants are also present. It also consists of newspaper clippings related to the EHHC and EHHC published newspapers. The bulk of the series, however, is devoted to fixture cards dating from 1889 to 1992. Copies of Mr. J. Rieman McIntosh’s two books are contained at the end of the series; The Elkridge Fox Hunting Club: Stories of the Hunts, 1880 - 1884 and A History of the Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club, 1878 – 1978. This series is arranged chronologically by type of publication.